Butler County law enforcement asked to testify in D.C. following shooting at Trump rally
Two local law enforcement officials have been asked to testify before the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security regarding the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at the Butler Farm Show grounds.
Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., announced Wednesday he has invited Butler County Sheriff Mike Slupe and Lt. Matthew Pearson of the Butler Township Police Department to testify “to examine the facts and circumstances” surrounding the incident.
Slupe said Thursday he was awaiting a return call from a committee contact on his appearance to testify on Aug. 23rd.
“I called them because the only thing I am going to talk about is what I did, what I saw and what I heard,” Slupe said. “Anything else is going to be outside my firsthand knowledge.”
Slupe told the Eagle a short time later that he planned to decline the invitation to testify.
“There are too many rumors and unsubstantiated claims in the media and on social media,” Slupe said of his decision to decline. “There are too many moving parts right now, and I only have firsthand information of what I did, heard and saw.“
He said six sheriff’s deputies were assigned to posts at the rally. Of those, four were inside the security perimeter.
“We weren’t in charge of any buildings. Our assignments were exact,” Slupe said. “That’s what we did. We performed our duties perfectly.”
He said his deputies reacted professionally and appropriately when the shooting began at the rally about six minutes after Trump took the podium to address the enthusiastic crowd.
Corey Comperatore, a father and former Buffalo Township fire chief who attended the rally, was killed by 20-year-old suspected shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, of Bethel Park. Trump suffered an ear injury that was treated at Butler Memorial Hospital, and two audience members received critical wounds, but survived.
“When the shooting happened, my deputies performed so well,” Slupe said. “I am so proud of them.”
He put out a post on the matter on his Facebook page, which elicited multiple responses that the federal government is trying to deflect responsibility for the shooting from the Secret Service to local law enforcement agencies who worked the rally.
Green also invited Col. Christopher Paris, Pennsylvania State Police commissioner, to testify, as well as several state police troopers also worked the rally.
Green said in his statement that the committee will be made up of Republican and Democrat legislators.
According to Green’s announcement, the invitation for Slupe, Pearson and Paris to testify follows his request for testimony from several federal officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle.
Green also sent a letter to Mayorkas that included a demand to see the security plan to secure the perimeter of the event site, including areas like the building from which the shooter attempted the assassination; communications between or among personnel at the Department of Homeland Security and the office of President Joe Biden related to any potential increase or addition of protective resources to Trump’s security detail; and the materials used to brief Biden about the attempted assassination.
“As we continue to gather all the facts about the cowardly attempt on President Trump’s life on Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania, the accounts and experiences of state and local law enforcement professionals with direct knowledge of these events will be critical,” Green said in his announcement. “Our goal is to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again, and I very much look forward to working with these officials in order to accomplish that critical objective.
“And as always, the Committee remains deeply grateful for the service of the men and women of state and local law enforcement.”
